We would either be a 1 loss team or undefeated team. I think we would have crushed BC and beaten Notre Dame (if the refs didn't screw us again). The only one I'm not sure we would have won is Duke, but I think we would have been way more competitive.
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Yes. Next question.
AD. After Duke. Moving on now.
That was awesome when Bud said that in the post game
While I agree that our record would be better, I think the program as a whole needed the wake up call of the duke game. I think the team embraces the AD mindset and don't think we'd be seeing the same overall improvements without it.
We need to consult the expert on this matter
I agree that our offense needs a QB run threat, but was he even healthy enough to start? Retrospective hypotheticals are nice, but hindsight is only 20/20 when you have all of the information and you're not just projecting backwards based on the state of things as they are now.
Yeah, but National Championship
I think a lot of people are assuming too much from Hooker if he started all season. Yes, he is a better fit for our offense than Willis was, and a better passer than QP, but our team is still really, really young. They have done a lot of growing up over the course of this season and I don't think handwaving Hooker under center suddenly makes all those players have a bunch of game experience. The D Line play alone is miles ahead of where we started the season and even having more time to rest between drives doesn't account for the difference in play.
And that is putting aside hypothetical injuries, difference in play from the other teams, etc. Notre Dame I'll grant because we were one play here or there from that being a different result.
BC we were two picks in the endzone from winning by 7. That's what you get for subbing Willis for hooker.
Unless Hooker was so hurt that when he took a hit he would fumble. Willis still had to drive the team to the red zone before he threw those picks.
Hooker in week 5 would have been a better choice to start the season than Willis, but Hooker in Week 1 =/= Hooker in Week 5 both from a health perspective and a development perspective.
Even if we had to start QP for a couple of games I think we're a better team with he or Hooker starting all season long. Would easily be ranked and def wouldn't have had a 7 point win over a dam Furman team
This is a better team every week.
Hindsight pls
I think the Jerry Kill factor is involved as well, so let's also assume that Kill was hired at the start of the year. Having said that...
I think we probably still would have lost to BC in game 1. Hooker would have probably still had a rough start, but it would have been in a game that was close. I could have seen us still losing that game.
Everything else up to Duke, I think we would have won it.
DUKE: I think we win this game if Hooker and the offense were playing then like they're playing now, and I think it's reasonable to think that with a few weeks of improvement we could have been in good form by then. I'm saying this would have been a victory.
I'm also going to assume that Hooker got injured the same way he did against UNC, so QP would have still played the ND game and we still would have lost.
So I think we would have one fewer loss on the year, to Duke, and we'd be 7-2 (4-1) right now.
I'd love more insight on the kill factor. Yes the hooker change has been huge, but other aspects of the team have grown exponentially
While I suspect Kill has certainly had some impact, I think we're mostly just seeing the team gelling and maturing. While we wished for that maturity sooner, the youth of this team can't be overstated. We are very young.
There were some pretty informed posters on 247 that mentioned specific coaches that Kill was very surprised how weak their ability to break down game film was. At least one of those units has been playing much better since JKs been on staff. Seems like gameplanning in general has improved significantly.
In his own words, Kill said that his first assignment was to review the running game and the offensive line. WELL.............
He also said he thought we were too soft when he arrived. We don't look soft now.
I think a lot changes if we started with Hooker, but I have to say it definitely feels like this was a 10-2 or better season with Hooker from the start. Team feels united and inspired with Hooker behind center.
I just want to Beat the hell out of Pitt and GT, get this team ready for the 1st Commonwealth Cup match up in a long time that will mean something.
I want what you want, for sure, but the Commonwealth Cup match up ALWAYS means something.
You know what I mean.
Last time it "meant something," 38-0 bro.
I'm here for that.
Do not think back on things like that. That is the start of Insanity.
Let's not get carried away. Even with Hooker being a better fit, this team is far from being a powerhouse and will have to scratch and claw to have a chance in every remaining game.
Exactly.
We're still winning with heroics, and are far from consistent on offense or defense.
Certainly but it doesn't take a powerhouse to sweep the Coastal this year.
Nope, it doesn't take a powerhouse, which is good for us. However, the point I'm trying to make is that we can't assume we're going to win out or that all of our problems are solved with Hooker at QB. I hope we do win out, of course. I just see the remaining games as being toss ups.
Oh yea I agree with that. Heck I could see us pulling a typical mid season choke job next week and then winning the next two. That would be the most VT thing ever.
That would mean a Coastal championship, so I wouldn't complain too much.
That's my point. That's probably the most VT way to win the division I can think of.
HH has definitely been a difference maker, but it's not just him. Bud and others talked about how they call after Duke "AD" - the entire team is practicing and playing harder and better. Not to take away from HH, he's had a huge impact, but the entire team needed a wake up call and, to their credit, has responded. This can't be understated. Also, Reggie and Dax have been playing way better, they specifically deserve a lot of credit.
I can't see this team being undefeated. Maybe we win one of those 3, but no way we go undefeated. And even if we did, it ultimately wouldn't matter unless we beat Clemson in Charlotte.
On an unrelated note - did anyone catch what Clawson was upset about before half? He said we did something unsportsmanlike, didn't catch what it was.
He said some of our equipment staff were squirting water as his team was headed into locker room
Yes, and while he had a point, the way he went about protesting it was extremely NarDouchey-like.
If they were playing WVU in Morgantown it would have been bags of piss, so he should be grateful
Hopefully, that's not the standard we're using.
Of course not. We'd put the piss in a squeeze or spray bottle first. We're not savages...
🙃
Why did we have equipment guys on their sideline with water? That makes no sense.
If we make it to Charlotte to meet Clemson there is no reason to think we can win that game, but it would definitely be the most college football thing ever if we somehow did.
Correction: it would be the most ACC thing ever.
If Hooker had been healthy for ND I definitely think we win that one. If he was playing at the same level at the beginning of the year as he is now we would have beaten BC easily. I'm not so sure about Duke - we need to remember that he was the qb when we fumbled the exchange and the floodgates opened.
This...
The team is different now than it was earlier in the season. It's not just one player. Early in the season one mistake would snowball into many more. That fumble against Duke and everything started going wrong. I personally think that the UNCheat game is where these players found out that they could take a punch and get back up off the mat and punch back. To me, that game, and the adversity they faced, was the turning point for this season. Down to the third QB, the best CB out for the second half and they could've easily folded and given up. But they didn't, they pulled together and they fought. They refused to lose that game no matter the obstacles. And since then, they have been a team. If they keep playing like they have for the last three games, they'll win out and face Clemson as a 9-3 team. And I think they'll give Clemson a fight.
I don't know if we win every game to this point, but I do feel with him right now we can win every game we have left.
Including Clemson
If this team ends up in the ACCCG after the way the first 4 weeks looked, I will believe anything is possible
Well, I did see bigfoot riding a unicorn through the woods once
Were they chasing a leprechaun riding the Loch Ness Monster? Because if so, then we must have been in the same woods.
I will go so far as to say we're the best team out of the three teams we have left to play. Every game is still loseable, however.
GT is getting better every week it seems, they played UVA well, but UVA didn't look good, perkins looked good. GT had some issues with a mobile QB.
Pitt has a very good defense. I could easily see us shutting down their offense. Could easily be a 10-7 game.
UVA is a rivalry, sort of, as long as they have Perkins they have a chance, but he doesn't have the weapons he had last year, his y/a and TD:int ratio are way down. I fully put that on his supporting cast. Their defense didnt handle a mobile QB thay wl against GT.
I don't think we blow out Pitt, but I cant even fathom any odd the scores. I doubt we shutout UVA as long as Perkins is in the game.
We keep playing like this and look out.
As crappy as we played early on - if young players with talent continue to grow in belief......
Think about it:
1) they now have a QB (or two) they believe in
2) Bud has opened up the defense and using more stunts, blitzes, etc...
3) our RB's (And WRs) are seeing bigger and better holes and even making the first guy miss at times
4) our D-line (supposedly our weakness) has had how many sacks and hurries against the last two (RANKED) teams?
5) notice we are getting healthier and I didn't see any major injuries last night (playing with more confidence and intensity?)
6) How bout our O-line!
7) Big plays haven't burned us after turnovers!
8) at times we have had our 2s and even 3s on the field without falling apart! (How much more of the team feels involved)
Sometimes being so young WITH BELIEF means being more coachable and too "dumb" to question coaches! How many of these players who aren't starting may decide to stay because of the TEAM and how they feel!
This may get really fun!
Great to have Big Play Tre and Hazzy on the field at the same time. Throw in Grims...and the young kid Robinson - we have some "gamers". Tight end core also top notch. HH has some targets.
In the end, the universe tends to unfold as it should.
I may be in the minority here, but I think BC is the game where the result is least likely to flip with HH at QB. We all know that RW had lots of turnovers in that game, but he also threw 4 TDs and led the offense up and down the field and converted countless third and longs. I think with HH we run more effectively and have fewer turnovers and maybe that's enough, but we also lose a lot of positive production with the way RW played in that game.
I think the game most likely to change outcome is ND. We came within 1 point with a limited playbook and ND stacking the box. The way the D played, I think we win that one with Hooker.
Duke - who knows - from what I can tell that game was more mental than it was physical or Xs and Os. If HH can keep the team more motivated and focused, then yeah probably. If not, probably not.
One other thing about the BC game (and other early games) - it's easy to focus on the biggest change being starting QB, but several players on D are playing way better and have really stepped up their game. Floyd and Dax deserve tons of credit for how hard they've worked and how well they're playing. BC was targeting their side of the field with success, and in the past few games those guys have been excellent. I'm sure there are others too (Waller since BC game, Farley since last year, Belmar since Duke) - but to me it's Floyd and Dax that have made the biggest improvement and are probably just as much reason for the turnaround as anything.
Lotta good points here. I think you and I generally came to the same conclusions with different rationales.
The offense and defense are both playing better so kudos to the coaching staff. That being said, there is no doubt the commitment to Willis was wrong and incredibly bone headed. He was obviously not delivering and yet the staff stubbornly stayed with him. That still troubles me. While the improvements have been noticeable on O and D, the stubborn commitment to Willis still gives FUCORN a credibility issue